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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28261176">How The Most Dangerous Thing Is To Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/whereshallwestart/pseuds/whereshallwestart'>whereshallwestart</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, And a far better writing style, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, But I CAN save the shinobi nation, But it reads as a series of separate events, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Hurt/Comfort, I couldn't save you, I'm back to writing after 6 years, M/M, On god we're gonna get these two boys some happiness, Rin my love, That eventually come together, This kind of time skips all over the place, With an English degree, so?, song-fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:14:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,766</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28261176</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/whereshallwestart/pseuds/whereshallwestart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hatake Kakashi wasn't nearly so closed off with his teammates as he could have been. Uchiha Obito decides to trust in his friend more than his eyes. Obito comes home with the body of the girl he loves in his arms, and his unconscious best friend on his back. Kakashi just tries to come to terms. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lyrics are from the song "Achilles Come Down" by Gang of Youths.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>242</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>How The Most Dangerous Thing Is To Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I am BACK after 6 years with an idea that refused to leave me alone. Rereading my old fics made me recoil so hard, that I knew I had to redeem myself somehow. While listening to the song, all I could imagine was poor Obito's fate, and I knew I had to do something. Maybe now I'll have some peace.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles come down, won't you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Get up off</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Get up off the roof?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You're scaring us</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>And all of us</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Some of us love you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles, it's not much but there's proof</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito wakes up with the memory of rocks crushing his lungs, and the bone deep relief that his teammates were able to escape. He remembers the strength of his push, forcing Kakashi away from harm, and he remembers the feeling of peace that overcame him as the rocks fell. He remembers giving Kakashi his eyes, hoping to see the future, even if he could no longer be a part of it. He remembers finally feeling equal to Kakashi. Then he remembers nothing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito wakes up with the burning sensation of pain coursing through his body. He wakes up breathing in fire, and exhaling agony. He wakes up in darkness. Kakashi. Rin. Minato sensei. Bright faces swim across his vision, calling him home. Then he sees nothing at all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m meant to be dead,” he thinks. And maybe this is death. Maybe he’s awaiting judgement. Maybe this is everything a mediocre shinobi like him deserves after death. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He can’t help but think though, did saving the great Hatake Kakashi mean nothing in terms of scoring him points in the afterlife? Did sacrificing himself in a very heroic way not constitute something beyond pain and darkness? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then he feels a hand on his forehead, and dark eyes meeting his own, and this has to be the god of the dead, ready to exact his judgement upon him. And then he feels nothing at all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s not the god of the dead, he soon finds out, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>Uchiha Madara</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and isn’t that a kick in the gut, because of course Obito knows about Uchiha Madara. Everyone knows about Uchiha Madara, and he’s just a little bit scared. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito soon finds out that no, he wasn’t crushed to death during the cave collapse, and that his limbs have been restored and regenerated. He spends his days getting used to his new body, his new strength. With Madara whispering dreams of a perfect world in one ear, Obito works desperately to get back to his team. His village. His family. He holds the images of Kakashi, Rin, and Minato sensei at the forefront of his thoughts, and he can almost imagine that he sees them by his side. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His friends are in trouble. His </span>
  <em>
    <span>team</span>
  </em>
  <span> is in trouble. So Obito runs. He thanks Madara, tells him goodbye, and he runs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He can feel when he gets closer to Kakashi and Rin. Feels it deep in his bones, an ache that had settled the minute he had woken up in that cave that begins to ease with every step he takes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He thinks about the way Kakashi smiles, not with his mouth, but with his eyes. How, ironically enough, a boy named </span>
  <em>
    <span>scarecrow</span>
  </em>
  <span>, who could kill him in more ways than Obito can imagine, makes Obito feel safer than anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He thinks about Rin, and her warm voice and even warmer hands. He remembers her watching over him, bandaging wounds that ran deeper than the scrapes on his skin. He remembers thinking </span>
  <em>
    <span>I will give you my heart and the entire world,</span>
  </em>
  <span> all to see her smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So he runs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He bursts into the clearing at the same time as Kakashi’s arm bursts through Rin’s chest. Then the world goes red. Then he doesn’t remember anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito is getting tired of this. He’s tired of blacking out and waking up, and not remembering the reason why. This time he wakes up surrounded by bodies, then he wishes he never remembered at all. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He crawls to Rin’s body, cold in ways she should never have been, and he thinks maybe he cries in between his screams. Closing his eyes, all he can think about are the whispers of a perfect world that Madara fed to him every night. Looking over at Kakashi’s body, he can’t breathe over the rage bubbling through his body. Thinks for one second about how easy it would be to kill the boy who </span>
  <em>
    <span>dared</span>
  </em>
  <span> to take Rin away from him, away from the world. His eyes roam over that face, land on a scar cutting through his eye, and suddenly he remembers. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You crazy assed cosmonaut</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Remember your virtue</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Redemption lies plainly in truth</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just humour us</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles come down</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Won't you get up off</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Get up off the roof</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rin had been kidnapped. Rin had been taken and Obito didn't know what to do. He wants to run after her. He wants to crush anyone into a pulp who even dares to think they can lay a hand on her. He knows he can’t do it alone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He remembers turning to Kakashi. He remembers getting ready to beg the other boy to help. He remembers the shock he felt when Kakashi sped past him, a jounin in every single way, already rushing towards Rin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He remembers thinking </span>
  <em>
    <span>this is my team, this is my family</span>
  </em>
  <span>, when Kakashi throws him a quick glance and asks if he’s planning on coming along. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fight to get Rin back was hard, and Obito felt so useless. Kakashi had taken a kunai to the face because Obito wasn’t strong enough, wasn’t fast enough, wasn’t good enough. All Obito ever wanted to do was protect the people he loved, and all he could see was himself failing in that. So when the time came, and he could do something about it, he pushed Kakashi out of the way and thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>it’s my turn to save you.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito remembers all of this, and he knows he’s missing something. The Kakashi he remembers would never hurt Rin in cold blood. The Kakashi he knows would never allow the blood of someone he cared about to stain his hands in this way. There has to be an underlying truth, and Obito will find it. If he’s wrong, well,  it’ll never be too late for him to exact his revenge and kill Kakashi right then and there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Obito pushes down his anger, his rage, his desire to tear the world apart and rebuild it in an image that would see his family together again. He pushes that down, he picks up his friends, and he walks towards Konoha. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles come down, won't you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Get up off</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Get up off the roof?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The self is not so weightless</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Nor whole and unbroken</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Remember the pact of our youth</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Every step feels like a hundred, and Obito can feel Rin’s cold body in his arms, and Kakashi’s heaviness across his back. Had he always been that heavy? Had Obito always been this weak? Had Madara pieced him back together, only for him to be shattered into pieces sharp enough to slice across his soul?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Every step closer to Konoha’s gates brings a rush of memories that make him want to drop the bodies he carries, and run as far away from it all as possible. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito doesn’t know what to make of Hatake Kakashi. The other boy is cold, methodical, and absolutely deadly. There’s no way Obito can work with him on a team, and he tells Minato sensei as much. Kakashi is condescending, arrogant, a total stickler for the rules, and he kind of makes Obito want to punch him in the throat a little. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minato sensei laughs brightly, and puts a hand on Obito’s shoulder, pulling him along down the road beside him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you know about Kakashi’s life? His father in particular?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito pauses, considering, “Not much sensei. His father was the White Fang, right? One of Konoha’s strongest, but he died when we were all really young.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minato nods, and turns to him with a sad smile, “You’re partially right. Hatake Sakumo was Konoha’s White Fang, but he didn’t just die years ago. He killed himself. It was Kakashi who found his body in their clan estate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito swallows heavily, and looks down as they continue walking. Konoha is bright and beautiful, civilians and shinobi alike are walking through the streets. Despite the brightness and life, Obito just feels heavy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minato continues walking alongside him, silently waiting for Obito to speak up and ask one of a hundred questions he can see swirling in the young boy’s dark eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why-um, sensei? Why did Hatake-san kill himself?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minato looked up at the blue sky and hummed pensively, “During a mission gone wrong Sakumo decided to abandon the mission to save his comrades, which led to the war against Suna. The village turned against him, including the men he saved, and his reputation was destroyed. Sakumo couldn’t bear the looks of hatred thrown towards him by the village he swore to protect, so to regain his honor, he performed a ritual suicide.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito’s eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in disgust. “The village turned against him? Just like that? And it was Kakashi who found his father?” Obito couldn’t stop his hands from shaking as he looked towards Minato. The village seemed to darken, every face seemed to twist into a snarl that looked at him with disgust. It was that easy to have the village turn against one of their own? To push one of their own to the edge, and right over the precipice?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minato turned that sad smile towards him again, “Kakashi learned at a very young age what could happen to those who broke the rules, and he learned what could happen when he wasn’t able to protect those closest to him. Kakashi carries the weight of not only his body, but his father’s.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito keeps walking silently next to his sensei, his thoughts racing ahead of him. He realizes what he needs to do. If Kakashi won’t come to him, he’ll go to Kakashi, and he won't let the boy walk alone anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minato sees the look of determination on the young Uchiha’s face, and he trusts that he’ll be leaving Kakashi in good hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito finds Kakashi training alone that night. He isn’t sure how long Kakashi has been at it, but he can tell that the boy is starting to slow down. He sits at the edge of the clearing and waits for Kakashi to notice him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He can’t help but watch the way Kakashi moves, and he’s entranced by the grace within the movements. Kakashi is lethal in every single way, and Obito wants to be as close to that power as he can. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He doesn’t realize that Kakashi has stopped until the boy is standing in front of him, face unreadable behind his mask. Obito scrambles up, turning to Kakashi with a bright grin on his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing here Obito?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Obito freezes. He hadn’t really thought this far. He has no idea what the hell he’s going to say to Kakashi, and the younger boy just stands there, eyes becoming more amused by the second. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come eat with me,” he blurts out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Food. You know, the thing normal humans need to survive?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what food is you idiot!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t call me an idiot, Bakashi!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stand there staring at each other, until Obito bursts out laughing and Kakashi turns away with an amused snort. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come and get dinner with me Bakashi, I saw you training on my way to Ichiraku’s and I couldn’t leave a teammate behind.” Obito thinks he’s being subtle. He hopes he is, at least. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi turns toward him with a disbelieving gaze, his confusion and caution plainly written in his eyes. Obito just turns a bright smile towards him and throws an arm across his shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon Bakashi, there’s some ramen with our names on it, and there’s no way I’d leave you behind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Smooth</span>
  </em>
  <span> he thinks, as he drags a pensive Kakashi with him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Where you go</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm going</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So jump and I'm jumping</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Since there is no me without you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Soldier on</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles come down</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Won't you get up off</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Get up off the roof?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito knows loneliness. He’s intimately familiar with what it feels like to be shunned by those who are meant to love you. As far as he can remember, he’s always been a disappointment to the Uchiha clan, never fitting in with their closed-off faces, and closed-off hearts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He remembers the day they passed Minato sensei’s bell-exam, and he suddenly understood what the feeling of </span>
  <em>
    <span>team</span>
  </em>
  <span> felt like. Once he begins to drag Kakashi along with him wherever he goes, and Kakashi finds a place between Obito’s bright laughs and Rin’s warm hands, he thinks that maybe </span>
  <em>
    <span>team</span>
  </em>
  <span> can begin to feel like </span>
  <em>
    <span>family</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>- </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a warm day when Kakashi came to him instead of Obito having to reach out. The Uchiha council had taken it upon themselves to dig into Obito once more. He couldn’t perform the Uchiha jutsus properly. He hadn’t even managed to activate his sharingan. He was an embarrassment to the Uchiha name. A stain upon their reputation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito laughs dryly as he sits along the river, staring into the water. Tilting his head back, he lets the sun warm the cold spots left behind by his clan’s disregard. It isn’t until Kakashi had settled beside him that Obito noticed the other boy. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Huh, couldn’t even tell that Kakashi was right behind me, some shinobi I am</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thinks to himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi sighs, and settles down further next to Obito. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You do realize that your clan is completely wrong about you, right?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito turns so sharply, he can almost hear the air around him crack. Kakashi is already facing him, head tilted, and eyes curved up into two twin moons of amusement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito turns back, staring at the water, “Are they really? I don’t live up to their expectations Bakashi. I don’t live up to the team’s expectations. You’re probably one of the best jounin in the village. Rin is well on her way to becoming an accomplished medi-nin. Compared to the both of you, I’m falling behind Kakashi. Dangerously so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi is silent next to him. Silent and still. He can hear Kakashi shifting to stand up, and thinks to himself </span>
  <em>
    <span>this is it, he’s gonna walk away</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Then he feels a blinding pain on the side of his head as he topples over, and he’s staring up at Kakashi incredulously. Kakashi is glaring down at him, eyes dark and angry. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not leaving you behind you idiot. Where we go, you come too, even if I have to drag you there myself! We are a team, Obito, and that team does not exist without you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito can feel his breath leaving him in sharp bursts as he looks up at Kakashi, who seems so much bigger than he usually is, and he can’t help but believe in him. Smiling up at Kakashi, all he needs is a second before he tackles Kakashi to the ground with a laugh. Kakashi yelps, and they wrestle along the river’s edge, and Obito has never felt so warm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi is staring down at Obito, and all he can see is half a face twisted into a shadow of the smile he remembers seeing. His eyes burn, and he’s not sure if it’s his tears, or the newly transplanted eye. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He can feel hands pulling on him, trying to get him out of the cave that’s quickly collapsing around him. He can’t move, can’t think anything besides, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that should have been me, and you promised you wouldn’t leave me behind</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He thinks he hears screaming, and it isn’t until he’s out of the cave and in Minato sensei’s arms that he realizes that it’s him. He kicks out, trying to get back to Obito, and he can hear himself screaming, “No, I can’t, I can’t leave him behind! Let me go, sensei! I can’t leave him!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He feels the edges of his vision getting darker, and he’s just so tired, and he falls to blackness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Loathe the way they light candles in Rome</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But love the sweet air of the votives</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hurt and grieve but don't suffer alone</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Engage with the pain as a motive</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Today of all days</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>See</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How the most dangerous thing is to love</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How you will heal and you'll rise above</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi wakes up to the loss of Obito as a tangible pain in his chest, and the scorn of the Uchiha council burning into him. It’s unheard off, an outsider wielding the sharingan, and they’re calling for his head as well as his eye. Minato sensei stands like an impenetrable wall between Kakashi and the demands of the council as Kakashi begins to collapse in on himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hold a memorial for Obito. Kakashi stands there staring at a grave that holds no body, and he wonders when he’ll start feeling as weightless as the coffin within the ground. He’s surrounded by all of Konoha, and it’s only when he sees the countless old ladies shedding tears, does he realize that Obito has always belonged to the village wholeheartedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stays long after everyone has left. He stays long after the disgusted gaze of the Uchiha have finished branding him with their hatred, and he can’t help but think </span>
  <em>
    <span>none of you ever deserved him</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The sun goes down, and Kakashi is still there. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I never deserved you either</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It hits Kakashi like a strike of lightning as he sits by Obito’s grave. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I loved him. I love him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and Kakashi can do nothing but laugh as he finally realizes. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You gave me your eyes to see the future, and I’ve been so blind for so long. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi starts to throw himself into missions. He ignores Rin’s attempts to reach out to him. He ignores Minato sensei, and he ignores Kushina. He comes home to an empty apartment, bleeding wounds matching his bleeding heart. Obito gave his life for Kakashi and for the village. Kakashi can’t turn his pain towards the village, so he turns it on his enemies and on himself, and hopes he can somehow attone for all the pain he’s caused. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stares at himself in the mirror, he watches Obito’s eye gaze back at him, and he can’t stand what he sees. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I left him behind. I left him behind when he refused to leave me</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Kakashi wonders if this ache will ever leave him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Jump now</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You are absent of cause</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Or excuse</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So self-indulgent</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>And self-referential</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No audience could ever want you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito crosses the threshold of the village gates, and can’t help but wonder why he doesn’t feel any lighter than before. Rin’s body is taken out of his arms, Kakashi is taken to the hospital, and Obito collapses into Minato and all he feels is heaviness. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They lay him down next to Kakashi, and all Obito can see is the young boy who took away the girl he loves, and he thinks he should hate Kakashi far more than he does. His eyes sweep over silver hair, closed eyes, and a scar (my scar), that disappears down into a mask. It’s not the first time that Obito wishes that the mask never existed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito wakes up next to an empty hospital bed, and it’s not until later that he finds out that Kakashi had woken up, and immediately gone to be debriefed. It’s through Minato that Obito finally finds out what happened. The unstable jinchuriki. Rin asking Kakashi to kill her to protect the village. Kakashi refusing, and Rin using him as a tool of her own suicide. For the first time, he finds himself hating Rin a little. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Didn’t you know what that would do to him?</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s been weeks and Obito hasn’t seen Kakashi at all. He’s taken to haunting the village’s shadows in order to get a glimpse of silver hair and dark eyes. He tells himself that it isn’t also to avoid the scared, judging eyes of the villagers that watch him with suspicion. He realizes what he must look like. Scarred. A patch job. Barely human. He remembers Minato sensei telling him that the village called him a hero during his memorial, and he can’t help but be amused at the way they treat their heroes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minato pulls him aside a month after his return, and a month into his search for Kakashi. Lips thin and eyes unusually somber, Minato tells him to give Kakashi his space. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s been… hard for Kakashi these past few months Obito. He was hardly around after your death, and now, I’m afraid no one can reach him. Let him grieve, and then let him come to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito nods, but for all of Minato sensei’s genius, he can’t help but wonder at the man’s stupidity. Let Kakashi wallow in that convoluted, genius mind of his? Yeah right. Obito had promised himself that he’d drag Kakashi along with him, and like hell did his not-so permanent death relieve him of that promise. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You crave the applause</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yet hate the attention</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Then miss it, your act is a ruse</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It is empty, Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So end it all now</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It's a pointless resistance</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>For you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito hasn’t been back for two months when he’s painfully reminded of how </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoying</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Uchiha clan can be, but when he’s looking at their pinched faces, he can’t help but think that getting crushed by rocks might be a better fate than having to talk to these people ever again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They tell him that he needs to get his eye back from Kakashi. They tell him how irresponsible he had been by entrusting his eye to an outsider. They tell him that it was only to honor Obito’s last wishes, that they had allowed Kakashi to hold onto the sharingan. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito tells them, in no uncertain terms, that there’s no way in hell that he’s going to take the eye back. If they wanted to honour his memory, they are perfectly welcome to go on believing that he’s dead. He tells them that they are to leave him and Kakashi alone, and from now on, Obito has washed his hands of the clan’s rules. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They threaten to exile him. To disown him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tells them they had never had him to begin with.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just put down the bottle</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Don't listen to what you've consumed</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It's chaos, confusion</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>And wholly unworthy</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Of feeding and it's wholly untrue</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi wakes up with a choked-off scream caught in his throat, and the feel of blood coating his hands. He feels arms holding him down, and he doesn’t realize that he’s thrashing around until Minato’s face swims into view. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Breathe Kakashi. There you go. Breathe with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Every breath seems to drag through his lungs with iron-clawed vengeance. Minato watches with sadness, hand resting on Kakashi’s shoulder waiting to help if needed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi lays his head back down and closes his eyes, only to have them spring open when all he can see is Rin’s face and a whispered </span>
  <em>
    <span>k-Kakashi</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He looks down at his hands, and all he can see is blood coating them, the same way they coated his hands when he found his father laying down on the floor. Sighing, he turns his head, only to freeze and have his breath stop in his lungs. Minato follows his gaze, and they land on the figure laying down on the bed next to them. Kakashi can’t believe it. Distinctly, he wonders when the world started shaking, he then belatedly realizes that it’s him. Everything narrows down to the boy sleeping peacefully, and he thinks this must be some cruel twist of fate. This has to be his penance. It has to be. Why else would the universe give Obito back to him, if not to have Kakashi answer for his crimes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s the one who brought you both back to Konoha,” Minato whispers, eyes not leaving Kakashi’s face, “He carried both your bodies through the gates, and it really is him Kakashi. It’s our Obito.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi stays silent. Obito looks so peaceful, and for a second, Kakashi can almost trick himself into believing that nothing has happened. Only. Only half of Obito’s face is scarred, and half of his body is an unbelievable white. But he’s back. He’s with Kakashi, and Kakashi can’t bear to look at him anymore. Doesn’t feel worthy of looking at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi turns away and starts to get off the bed, glad to see he’s still dressed, and despite Minato’s protestation, he walks out of the hospital to give his debrief at the Hokage Tower. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should really get back to the hospital Kakashi. You need your rest. Obito’s going to wake up any minute now.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi turns away and continues to walk. He doesn’t stop until he’s back in his apartment, and it’s only then, that he allows himself to collapse. He can feel his body shaking again, his breath coming out in sharp gasps, and he wants to cry. Wants to scream. Wants to drag Rin back from the dead and ask her what the hell she was thinking? How she could possibly force Kakashi to go through what he did. He curls up on himself right by the door, and lets exhaustion claim him. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You may feel no purpose</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Nor a point for existing</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It's all just conjecture and gloom</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>And there may not be meaning</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>So find one and seize it</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Do not waste your self on this roof</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito is just about ready to hog-tie Kakashi with some chakra strings, and then proceed to beat some sense into him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kakashi hasn’t stopped taking missions since the day we thought you died. He comes back to the village covered in blood, and each time, more of that blood belongs to him than his enemies,” Kushina tells him one day. Obito came to visit her, and she proceeded to cry on his chest for twenty minutes, before she punched him across the room for making her grieve in the way that she had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now she’s looking at him with concern painted across her eyes, and Obito is so angry. He’s furious. Kakashi has been avoiding him, and now this. Obito has genuinely had enough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you know where he is now Kushina-san?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kushina turns away from him, looking toward the horizon, “I think he actually just got back from an A-rank, he should be back at his apartment.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not at the hospital?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kushina pauses, chewing on her lip with uncharacteristic nervousness, “Uh, no. Kakashi doesn’t really stop by the hospital post-missions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito sees red, excuses himself, and goes to track himself a stubborn shinobi.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’s jumping from roof-to-roof and he can’t stop the seething rage that’s threatening to overcome him. He’s always known that Kakashi was a stubborn bastard, and it makes sense why Obito couldn’t find him if the idiot was never in the village. But this level of irresponsibility, after Obito went through so much to make sure he survived, it rankles Obito in a way he can’t explain. Obito is going to find Kakashi, and he’s going to shake some answers out of him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gritting his teeth, Obito lands near Kakashi’s apartment and climbs in through the open window. The apartment is dark and the air feels oppressive. Obito climbs through slowly, not wanting to startle Kakashi, but the room is silent. There’s a faint light coming through the closed door of Kakashi’s bedroom, and Obito takes a deep breath. Opening the door, all he sees is a deep slash running across Kakashi’s back, and blood dripping onto the floor. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hear those bells ring deep in the soul</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Chiming away for a moment</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Feel your breath course frankly below</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>See life as a worthy opponent</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Today of all days</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>See</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How the most dangerous thing is to love</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How you will heal and you'll rise above</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Crowned by an overture bold and beyond</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, it's more courageous to overcome</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi knows he’s being stupid and careless. He knows how much worse his inevitable reunion with Obito is going to be if he keeps avoiding him. But everytime he thinks about facing Obito, his heart races, his palms become clammy, and he’s already heading toward the Missions Room and accepting a scroll before he realizes what’s happened. Minato and Kushina throw him worried glances, have tried to stop him from going on another mission, Kakashi refuses to listen. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi should have listened. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had barely healed from the ordeal with Rin (No. Don’t think about her), before he’s started accepting mission after mission. His body is tired. He is tired. It’s beginning to show. He’s surrounded by enemy-nin, and they’re still coming. His body is slowing down, his chakra levels are low, and he can feel his reflexes becoming sloppy. All it takes is one mistake, and then his back explodes into a burst of fire. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi stops thinking, moves into Chidori before he can even comprehend what he’s about to do, and the next thing he knows, he’s surrounded by bodies with holes in their chests, and Kakashi is vomiting against a tree. He can’t look at his hands, can’t stop for a second. He runs towards Konoha and he doesn’t look back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s a testament to his exhaustion that he doesn’t sense anyone entering his apartment, but he does hear the door opening up behind him. He turns on his heels, and there Obito stands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stand there staring at each other, a chasm opening up between them that neither of them knows how to cross. The only noise in the room is the steady drip of blood coming from the wound across Kakashi’s back, and Obito snaps out of his daze and steps forward, hand outstretched. Kakashi automatically steps back, Obito’s hand hanging between them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kakashi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Kakashi takes another step back, his knees hitting the foot of the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito exhales heavily through his nose and continues to step forward until he’s standing in front of Kakashi. With gentle hands, hands far too gentle for the anger flowing through his body, he pushes Kakashi down onto the bed and goes to gather supplies. Ignoring Kakashi’s shaking shoulders, he carefully washes the blood off of Kakashi’s back and around the wound. They sit in silence as Obito carefully stitches the wound closed, and they continue on in silence as he bandages his handiwork. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With his job done, Obito can’t bear to take his hands off of Kakashi’s skin. He’s been looking for Kakashi for so long, he’s been back in Konoha for two months now, and it’s only now, after he’s touched Kakashi’s skin, that he feels like he’s come home. This is definitely a line of thought he’s going to have to question later, but right now, he needs answers. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Surprisingly enough, it’s Kakashi who breaks the tentative peace growing between them. With careful movements he turns around to face Obito. His eyes are heavy and already filled with tears when he reaches a shaking hand out to curve along the scarred portion of Obito’s face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito draws in a sharp breath the minute Kakashi touches his face, and it’s as if that one action has cut all of Kakashi’s strings, and he collapses against Obito, so much smaller than he has the right to be. Obito pulls him close, and he can feel the wetness crawling down his throat, and Kakashi’s lips moving against his collar. It isn’t until he’s concentrating that he realizes they’re whispered apologies</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You want the acclaim</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The mother of mothers (it's not worth it Achilles)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>More poignant than fame</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Or the taste of another (don't listen Achilles)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito holds on to Kakashi until his body settles down. He has one hand curved over the nape of Kakashi’s neck, and he’s got another hand resting on Kakashi’s hip rubbing soothing circles into the sharp bone there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito doesn’t want to be the one to break the peace, but with a tired sigh, he whispers out a soft, “We need to talk Kakashi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi stiffens in his arms and pulls away, head bowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve been avoiding me Kakashi, I’d like to know why.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The curve of Kakashi’s spine is a sad thing to behold, his head still bowed heavily, and with every second, Obito is losing his patience. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Answer me Kakashi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kakashi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In a flash, Obito reaches out a hand and grasps Kakashi’s jaw, pulling his head up, “KAKASHI.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi doesn’t know what to do. His thoughts are racing at a hundred miles per hour, and all he can feel is the </span>
  <em>
    <span>warmth </span>
  </em>
  <span>of Obito’s hand on his face. All he can see is the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fire</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the young Uchiha’s eyes as he glares at Kakashi. Kakashi realizes that this is the first time that he’s felt warm in a very long time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> to talk Kakashi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito can feel his frustration mounting as Kakashi turns his face away from his hand and stands up, turning away from him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been back for two months Kakashi, and you’ve been avoiding me ever since. I… have I done something? I’ve missed you so much Kakashi. I spent every minute I was gone thinking about you. About Rin. About Minato sensei. Now I’ve come home, and you won’t even look me in the face?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito can’t stop the hurt from bleeding into his voice, the same way he can’t help but notice the stiffening of Kakashi’s spine at Rin’s name. Obito steps closer, hand reaching out to rest on Kakashi’s shoulder as he lowers his head to rest between Kakashi’s shoulder blades. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then Kushina-san tells me that you’ve been avoiding the hospital, going on mission after mission and coming home hurt, and you still won’t look me in the face,” he whispers against Kakashi’s skin, feeling the shivers run through Kakashi’s body as his voice ghosts across his back. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But be real and just jump</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You dense motherfucker (you're worth more, Achilles)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You will not be more</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Than a rat in the gutter (so much more than a rat)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There’s only silence. Obito is pressed against Kakashi’s back, and yet he’s never felt further away from the boy in front of him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito thinks that the silence might end up suffocating him, until he hears:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were gone.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Three words shatter that silence into many shards that seem to cut across any rational thought that he may have had. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had to leave you. You gave me your eye, and I had to leave you. You promised to never leave me behind, but I left you, and you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi isn’t crying. Obito thinks this might be easier if he was. Instead, there’s a coldness that verges on desperation that’s leaking into Kakashi’s voice, as he whispers the phrase, “you were gone,” as if it was a prayer that could call Obito home.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Obito feels chilled to the bone, and he presses tighter against Kakashi. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here Kakashi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were gone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here, and I won’t leave you behind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here, just turn around. Just turn around and see me and know that I’m here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I killed you. I killed you, and I killed Rin, and you were gone but you’re not anymore, but she is, and I’m so </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired</span>
  </em>
  <span> of being alone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito feels his heart break, and he doesn’t know how much closer he can get to Kakashi without crawling into his skin. And maybe that’s the solution. Maybe he can crawl into Kakashi and build a home within this broken boy, so that he never doubts that Obito will come back to him. For him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Obito thinks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If </span>
  <em>
    <span>team</span>
  </em>
  <span> meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>family</span>
  </em>
  <span>, then what did it mean when Kakashi meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>home </span>
  </em>
  <span>to him? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I think I love him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, is his first thought. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Of course you love him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, is his heart’s reply. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not alone, never alone, please turn around.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You want my opinion (no one asked your opinion)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>My opinion you've got</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>You asked for my counsel (no one asked for your thoughts)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I gave you my thoughts</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Has Kakashi always been this fragile, he wonders? With his head bowed, Obito can see the delicate curve of his neck, and can see the sharp angle of bones covered by corded muscle. He drags a hand down pale skin, watches a trail of goosebumps follow the path, until he’s holding Kakashi’s hand and pulling him around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When Kakashi looks up, it’s with the eyes of a boy who has seen too much, and a soul that’s lived far too long. All Obito can do is pull him close and press his lips against a cool forehead. What he does not expect is the violent push against his chest that has him pulling away immediately. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Where once stood fragile glass, Kakashi is an angry shard ready to strike and kill. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t look at me like that. Don’t touch me like that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like what?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like-like I’m something worth caring for. Worth holding. Something other than a miserable plague on anyone who dares come close to me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But you are worth caring for. Worth holding. You are everything in my world Kakashi.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi reels back, his face blanching, “you- you can’t mean that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have I ever said something I don’t mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I killed Rin.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No you didn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>killed</span>
  </em>
  <span> her Obito. I drove my hand through her chest and I killed her. How… how could you forget about something like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito grits his teeth, swallows down the poisoned kunai that want to crawl out of his throat and hurl themselves at Kakashi. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t kill her. She made her decision Kakashi. You think I’ve forgotten? You think I could ever forget? I saw it happen. I saw her fall. I saw you fall. I carried her back to Konoha. I carried </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. How the hell do you think I could ever forget something like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But you’re still here,” comes the whispered reply. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Deeming it safe to step forward again, Obito grabs Kakashi’s hand and draws him in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m still here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kakashi reaches a hand up to rest against Obito’s cheek, and Obito feels himself exhale two months worth of pain and sorrow. Turning his head, he brushes a light kiss against Kakashi’s palm, and can feel the shudder race through the other boy's body. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m still here, and I won’t leave you again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Be done with this now</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>And jump off the roof</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Can you hear me Achilles?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm talking to you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm talking to you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm talking to you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I'm talking to you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles come down</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Achilles come down</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Time doesn’t seem to move, and Obito can’t tell how long they’ve been standing there for. But it isn’t until he feels Kakashi sag against him that he remembers the wound across the other shinobi’s back, and gently guides him to sit on the bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kneeling between the boy’s legs, Obito makes sure he catches Kakashi’s eyes when he says, “You can’t keep doing this anymore Bakashi,” and the slight upturn of lips is unmistakable at the old nickname. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t keep avoiding the hospital. You can’t keep taking suicide missions. And… and you can’t keep running away from me. This isn’t what I want. This isn’t what Rin would have wanted.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another shudder. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will always come back to you,” and he grabs Kakashi’s hands and brings them to his lips, “but I need you to come back to me now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Throw yourself into the unknown</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>With pace and a fury defiant</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Clothe yourself in beauty untold</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>And see life as a means to a triumph</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I spent so long mourning my dad. Mourning you. Now mourning Rin. I don’t think I know how to stop.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me help you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were </span>
  <em>
    <span>gone</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Obito.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For tonight?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Forever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“... yeah Kakashi. Forever sounds nice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Today of all days</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>See</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How the most dangerous thing is to love</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How you will heal and you'll rise above</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Crowned by an overture bold and beyond</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ah, it's more courageous to overcome</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obito’s waiting by Konoha’s gate. Kakashi’s been gone on a mission for weeks, and Obito hasn’t felt a moment's peace since. He spots a flash of silver running through the trees, and Kakashi lands a few feet away. For a man named scarecrow, Obito has never felt as if he should fear him. And the way Kakashi walks up to him now, uncovered eye curved into a happy crescent moon, Obito has never felt safer. With a laugh he tackles Kakashi to the ground, and Obito finally feels warm again. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know what you all think!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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